Especially in college life, long-distance relationships are very common. Whether the distance is minimal or large, there will be struggles from being so far apart from your significant other (S.O. from here on). There will be a lot of times where you question if it is even worth it because of the distance, but there are so many more moments that prove that making long distance relationships work is worth it. Based off of my personal (and ongoing) experience, I’ll share with you some tips about how long-distance relationships can be one of the best types of relationships!

1. Invest in Skype

If the distance between your S.O. and you is big enough that you can’t visit often, go ahead and download Skype on your computer or pay attention to your FaceTime app on your phone. Skype is an amazing program that lets you talk to others and see them too. This helps out so much with long-distance relationships because you get to talk to your S.O. and see them at the same time!

2. Keep each other informed

Your schedule and theirs will probably get pretty hectic because of schoolwork and your social lives, but you should still keep your S.O. informed about what your schedule is like! This way, both of you won’t be unintentionally ignoring the other. Informing each other also gives you both an idea of when you’re free to talk to each other.

3. Little surprises brighten their day

More than likely you and your S.O. might not be able to visit each other that often, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything cute or surprise them! Sweet and surprising text messages can give them the extra smile they needed if they’re having a bad day or you can even go back to vintage and write them letters. Personally, I love writing letters and it is something that they wouldn’t expect. Everyone loves getting letters in the mail!

4. Plan visits

Even though either of you can’t visit often, do make a point to try and meet up! However frequent or not, setting a date to meet up will give both of you something to look forward to. Finding a spot that is halfway for both of you and spending a day together will definitely make you both feel better. Being separate is hard, so set up a day together or even a “Date Night” to spend time together.

5. Communicate honestly with each other

Being so far away from each other might put a damper on how frequent you communicate. You can’t keep your feelings to yourself the whole time. Your S.O. is going through the same tough times that you are, so communicating with them about when you are upset or frustrated and then talking about it will help your relationship grow. Bottling up emotions and thoughts will only cause tension between you two and that will only create more problems.

6. A relationship is a two-way street

Any relationship goes by this. A relationship is two sides that have an equal amount of effort from both people. Whether or not the relationship is long-distance, both you and your S.O. can’t forget about this. All of the effort in the relationship cannot be coming from only one person, because soon enough they will either get too frustrated with it or they will feel not important enough for effort to be made for them. It is harder to remember this because of the distance, but if both you and your S.O. make an equal effort to see and talk to each other, the two-way street is still moving forward.

7. Have a social life and don’t feel guilty about it

This point is the most important to me because it is something that I always struggle with but it is a key part or being happy in a long-distance relationship. Just because you’re in a relationship that isn’t where you are does not mean that you cannot have a social life where you are. You are allowed to go out, make friends and have fun just as your S.O. is doing wherever they are. Don’t feel guilty about having fun either. You are your own person and you aren’t restricted to what you can and can’t do while in a long-distance relationship. This is your opportunity to find out more about yourself as an individual and also with your S.O. respectively.

I won’t deny that there will be times when being in a long-distance relationship is very hard. You both will miss each other a lot, but you have to remember that you are where you are supposed to be. Through long-distance relationships you will learn more about yourself and more about your significant other. Seeing each other will be that much more special when you do spend time together and you both will grow in your maturity and caring for each other.